122 Fifth: Inside the Rebirth of a Manhattan Landmark

During the architect interview process, it became clear that the entrance should be moved off of Fifth, a view also embraced by the selected architects—STUDIOS Architecture. One idea led to another, which was that they needed to expand into the adjacent parking lot to achieve a larger contiguous space. Today, following a $100 million investment, 122 Fifth encompasses 300,000 square feet, with 18,000 square feet of retail, office plates ranging from 27,000 to 33,000 square feet and nearly 15,000 square feet of rooftop terraces and gardens.

“At its core, this project was a complete rebirth of a building,” explained Roy Vice, senior vice president of construction and development at Bromley Cos.

Even as the exterior was being preserved, the interior was effectively undergoing a ground-up job, introducing all new mechanical and electrical systems. This complex overhaul of 112 Fifth brought it once again into the spotlight and turned on the natural light inside it.

“As a T-shaped building with limited façades on Fifth Avenue, 17th and 18th streets, and a core sitting at the center of the main spine, there wasn’t too much light getting deep into the building,” said Tomás Quijada, associate principal at STUDIOS Architecture. “By removing the core from the old building and shifting it into a central yet discreet portion of the new building, light can penetrate deeper into the floorplate and provide an easier direct visual connection to sunlight as well,” he explained.

With this reimagining of the core strategy, the architects were able to uncover some windows that were boarded up on the light well, providing additional light at the crux of the T-shaped building.

STUDIOS Architecture played a pivotal role in 122 Fifth’s redesign, serving as the main draftsman and spearheading several innovative contributions, MacArthur confessed. Their solutions are the result of the architects pushing Bromley to “think differently about the opportunities inherent in rethinking the entire property.”

One such example is the decision to build out the new lot and move the core entirely out of the old building into the new one. Another is consolidating the elevators into the new addition, a decision which opened up the plannable tenant areas, improving flexibility and filling them with light, fit features for the tenancy in the market.

The annexation of the new building to the original structure unfolded seamlessly and occurred across two plans: outside and inside. On the exterior, STUDIOS searched far and wide for a blend of bricks that matched the old and a material that aligned with the historic limestone elements. Also, the rooftop terrace and building addition create a common space for the old and the new buildings, all while complying with LPC requirements.